The Power of the Nanites
by StarlightSorcerer
Summary: When a powerful enemy returns, threatening to destroy Sonic's hometown with a strange new invention, it's up to the Freedom Fighters to stop him! Sonic and Tails begin their search for the missing Knuckles the Echidna, fighting other foes along the way. Meanwhile, Sally and friends go to Team Dark for help in defeating the villain.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Just a Normal Day in New Mobotropolis**

Sonic stepped out of Chuck's Chili Dog Diner and into the brisk morning air. He wiggled his nose as a cool breeze blew by. The hedgehog shivered. He heard the door of the diner creak open and Sally came out to stand beside him.

"Sure is cold this morning," the princess commented.

"What? Pfft! Nah!" Sonic grinned, his teeth chattering. "Come on, Sal! This is sw-sw-swimmin' weather!"

Sally put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at him. "Of course it is. So, what are you up to today? The usual hero stuff?"

Sonic stretched his arm behind his head with a grunt. "Think I'll just go for a run." He leaned down to touch his toes. "How 'bout you? Smart allec Princess stuff?"

Sally chuckled and pushed him playfully. "Sure, _I'm _the smart allec! I'm gonna go for a walk."

"Walk?" Sonic slumped his shoulders. "BOOOOORIIIING." He moved into his starting position. A smug grin lit up his face. "Now _this_ is much more my speed!" In a huge gust of wind, he was gone.

Sally stood there wide-eyed, her hair sticking straight up in the air. She sighed and attempted to smooth down her frizzy locks. She began her walk through the beautiful city of New Mobotropolis. It was a beautiful blue-sky day. The warm sun beat down on the city and its citizens. A light fog still hung in the air, but the sunlight was quickly burning it away. The main square was abuzz with activity. Mobians bustled around, shouting out greetings to one another, shops opened and customers quickly got themselves in line to get the first loaf of bread, the first catch, whatever was being sold. Some said hello to Sally as she passed. They almost always addressed her properly, despite her insistence that they not. As Sally passed the Florist, she noticed a small rabbit and her mother. It took her a moment to place them, but then she remembered. The child was Cream, her chao was Cheese, and her mother was Vanilla.

The group walked away from the small flower shop. Cream happily sniffed her new bouquet: pink roses and yellow tulips. Cheese swirled around her head excitedly. Suddenly, Cream was distracted from her flowers and looked over in Sally's direction. They were a few yards away, but Sally clearly heard her high-pitched voice over the crowd.

Cream pointed. "Look, mother! It's the Princess! She's gracing us with her presence!"

Sally resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She couldn't imagine being as stuck-up and pretentious as other royals could be. She enjoyed being with the citizens, her friends…in fact; she preferred it to sitting on a thrown all day. But Sally knew Cream wasn't aware of that, so she got a pass.

Vanilla watched her daughter nervously. She placed a hand on her shoulder. "Now, now, remember what I told you, Cream. It's not polite to point."

"I'm sorry, mother," Cream apologized.

Sally smiled over at them as they continued on their way. _She'll make an excellent Freedom Fighter, one day, _she thought. Sally finally reached the edge of the square, the hustle and bustle of early morning behind her. She had entered the neighborhood now, and all was quiet. The only sound was the tweeting of Flickies as they flitted from tree to tree. Sally bumped her feet into something on the ground, and just barely caught herself before she fell face first into the dirt. She looked down and jumped back with a gasp. "Oh, Espio!" Sally put her hand over her heart, trying to catch her breath. "You startled me!"

The chameleon gave a nod of acknowledgment. "My apologies, Princess." He placed a finger over his mouth to signal quiet, and turned invisible once more. "If he asks, I'm not here."

Sally raised an eyebrow. "What are you…?"

"Hey, Sally!"

Sally looked up. A young twin-tailed fox hovered towards her. He landed on the path, panting. "Hello, Tails," Sally greeted him. "You look awfully tired. What's going on?"

Tails seemed distracted. He glanced around the area frantically. "Have you seen Espio?"

Sally glanced down quickly. "Umm, no."

"Aww, darn!" Tails sighed, his ears drooping in frustration. "I can't believe I agreed to play hide-and-seek with Espio." His tails begin to spin and he flew off. "I'll see you later, Sally!"

Sally waved goodbye. She looked down at the ground warily. She was sure to lift up her leg higher so as not to trip over the ninja again. Past the neighborhood, there was a small training course. There, there were erected several wooden poles of various lengths. They were mostly used to practice balance in battle. Sally came to a stop. There were sounds of distress coming from the course. She quietly moved forward, maneuvering around the poles and keeping her gaze focused ahead. Finally, she reached the source of the noise.

"Oh, come on! Just my luck!" Amy Rose yanked at a yellow pole buried deep in the ground. Upon closer inspection, Sally realized it was Amy's hammer.

Sally walked over to her. "Need some help, Amy?"

Amy's head shot up. She obviously hadn't realized the Princess was there. Amy quickly tried to seem nonchalant, and leaned against the handle of her hammer casually. "Oh, hi Sally! How are you? I was just, uhh…you know…and, umm…"

Sally raised an eyebrow. "You were just getting your hammer stuck in the ground?"

"Well…I…uhh…yeah," Amy hung her head in defeat.

"Do you need some help?" Sally asked.

"No no no no no! I'm fine! Really!" Amy tugged uselessly again at her hammer.

Sally rolled her eyes and grabbed hold of the buried weapon. "Okay, on the count of three. One, two…THREE!"

Both girls yanked as hard as they could. They lost their grip on Amy's hammer and it sailed through the air hitting a pole behind them. At the same time, the two fell backwards onto the ground.

"Whew!" Amy stood up and brushed the dirt off her dress. "Thanks a lot!" She held out a hand to the princess and helped her up.

"No problem, Amy," Sally said. "Just be more careful next time. When the ground around here gets too wet, it's basically quicksand."

Amy chuckled. She picked up her hammer and examined it. "Don't worry. I'll be more careful next time!"

"I'm gonna hold you to that," Sally smiled at her friend. Suddenly remembering something, she surveyed the clearing. "Doesn't Julie-Su usually train with you? Where is she?"

"She's busy." The smile faded from Amy's face. "I think she's a bit upset, too…"

Sally blinked in surprise. "Why would Julie-Su be upset?"

"Oh! You mean you don't know?" Amy scratched her head, perplexed. "Knuckles went on a solo-mission awhile ago, and he hasn't come back yet. He even ordered Team Chaotix not to go after him."

Sally stared, shaking her head slowly. Why hadn't she been informed of this? "Where did he say he was going? We should send out the Freedom Fighters to look for him."

"He didn't say," Amy sighed.

Sally nodded. The gears were already turning in her mind as she worked out a plan. "I see. All right. We'll figure this out." Sally walked quickly towards the city. "Keep training, Amy!" she called back. "We're gonna need you if things get messy…"

"Yes, sir!" Amy saluted. She pulled her hammer back and swung it into a pole. Just as she did, the ground began to shake. Amy gave a startled yelp and stumbled backward, dropping her hammer. _An earthquake? _She thought. Then the shaking stopped, just as suddenly as it had begun. Amy shook off her dizziness and looked around worriedly. A feeling of dread enveloped the young hedgehog. "Something is wrong," she whispered. "Very wrong…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Just a Normal Day at G.U.N. HQ**

Shadow walked through the halls of the Guardian Units of Nations Headquarters. He realized other agents were saying hello to him as he passed, but he was too deep in his thoughts to talk to them. _I wonder what Commander Tower wants? Another mission for me and the rest of Team Dark, perhaps? I hope so. It has been awhile…_

"Hey, Agent Shadow!"

Shadow stopped. That one voice in particular stood out to him. The hedgehog smiled a little at the overlander standing before him. He didn't normally converse with any other agents besides Rouge and Omega, but he got along quite well with this agent. Shadow himself was not exactly sure why. "Agent Glen Andrews. Hello."

"And where are you off to? Got another mission?" The agent asked.

"Perhaps. Commander Tower asked to speak with me," Shadow explained. He stared down the hallway, eager to continue onwards.

Andrews smirked. "Are you nervous, Shadow? Heh! Imagine that. The same Mobian who jumped out of a helicopter without a parachute and traveled to an alternate dimension ruled by a giant panda God afraid of an old grump like Commander Tower."

Shadow frowned. "I'm not afraid of him."

"Then you're afraid you're in trouble? Start another food fight in the cafeteria?"

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "I am the Ultimate Life Form. I fear nothing."

"Right, right. I know," Andrews gave him a thumbs-up. "Good luck in there."

"Thank you." Shadow began to walk away, but stopped when he remembered something. "How is Lizzie, by the way?" he asked.

Andrews chuckled. "Wondering about your little playmate, huh? She's doing great."

"Very good then." Shadow continued on this way.

"I know you're the one who started that food fight, Shadow!" Andrews shouted down the hallway. "You may have everyone else fooled but you haven't fooled me!"

"What did I tell you before?" Shadow yelled back. "Stop trying to be funny! You're not good at it!"

"Aww, lighten up!"

Shadow grunted in aggravation. But then he smirked a little. Finally, he reached the door to Commander Tower's office. He opened it and stepped inside. Commander Tower stood behind his desk, staring out the window. He turned his head a moment to see who had come in. "Oh, Shadow," he said. "Have a seat."

Shadow looked around. He saw no chairs. There was only a colorful, squishy thing on the floor. "Do you want me to sit in whatever _that _is?" he pointed.

Commander Tower looked at him, his face devoid of expression. "Yes. It's a bean bag chair. I thought it would annoy you. I was correct."

Shadow narrowed his eyes. He seated himself begrudgingly on the squishy bag. Shadow and the Commander had never really gotten along, and the hedgehog knew that wasn't going to change anytime soon. "So, why have you called me here, Commander?"

"I just wanted to inform you that a strange, albino echidna was spotted around here a couple of days ago. He has not been identified yet. We're telling everyone to keep an eye out. You may go now, Agent Shadow. And please inform your teammates of this."

At this point, Shadow had sunken into the bean bag chair completely. Now only his quills were visible. "Yes, Commander," he said, his voice muffled. Shadow got up and left the room, heading straight for the gymnasium. He entered the room silently and sat on a small bench.

A hulking red and yellow robot rotated his head towards the hedgehog. "Greetings, Shadow the Hedgehog," his metallic voice echoed through the room.

"What's up, Shadow?" A white bat floated down from the ceiling. "You're looking even more angsty than usual."

"Omega, Rouge," He looked between the two of them. "Commander Tower has informed me that there may be an intruder here. An albino echidna. He was spotted a few days ago."

Rouge crossed her arms. "An albino echidna. That sure sounds strange all right."

Omega clenched his fists. "If I see the intruder, I shall purge him with fire."

Rouge winked at him. "That's the spirit, honey!"

Shadow stood up, cracking his neck. "Are you in the mood for a little sparring, Omega?"

"Affirmative," Omega stepped forwards, putting himself in a battle-ready stance.

Rouge stuck out her pouty lip. "How come you never want to spar with _me?_"

"Hmph." Shadow crouched on the ground, his one fist raised. "You're far too easy to defeat, Rouge."

Rouge sighed. "Well, you didn't have to be so blunt." She flew quickly upwards and clung to the ceiling, in order to avoid being caught in the middle of the fight.

Quick as a flash, Omega shot forward, propelled by his jet boosters. Shadow lunged forward, and the two collided. Shadow grabbed onto Omega's head to try and force him backwards, fighting against the boosters on the robot's back. Omega's powerful fist punched Shadow's side, knocking the wind out of him. Shadow struggled to his feet. Omega moved to deliver another blow, but Shadow was too quick. He ducked away from Omega's swinging arm and slid right between his legs, and suddenly he was behind his opponent. Before Omega could turn around, Shadow flipped backwards through the air and landed on the robot's head. He grabbed hold of it and flipped him over. Omega landed on his back with a thunderous boom. Shadow, meanwhile had landed neatly on the ground next to him.

"Not bad," Rouge commented.

Shadow smirked. "Ultimate victory."

There was laughter coming from the doorway. "You can say that again, Shadow!"

The hedgehog looked up and grimaced. Andrews was there, in the gymnasium, even though he had told him _repeatedly _not to come there while he was training.

Andrews rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I know, I know. You told me not to bother you while you're training, but…" a huge grin spread across his face. "Someone really wanted to visit you!"

A young girl stepped out from behind him. Her eyes were wide with excitement at seeing her hedgehog buddy.

Shadow's eye twitched in aggravation. _Why is everyone intent on humiliating me today? _he asked himself.

Finally, the child could not stand waiting anymore. She ran to Shadow with her arms spread wide. "Shady!"

Omega's eyes focused on her. "Small life form detected. Threat level: zero."

Rouge grinned deviously. "Well, what have we here? Is she one of your playmates, _Shady?_"

Shadow sighed as the little girl wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. All the fight was out of him now. "Hello, Lizzie."

Andrews walked over and patted his daughter on the head. "Looks like she still hasn't gotten your name right. By the way, Shadow, you'll come to her birthday party, won't you? Lizzie really loves having you there! It'd _really _make her day!"

Shadow sighed again and looked down at the girl. He realized now she was trying to hide behind him, and was shaking in fear. "What's the matter?"

"The b-big robot man is sc-scary!" she stammered.

"Aww, you don't need to worry about Omega," Rouge assured her. "He wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"Actually, I…" Rouge elbowed Omega hard in the side and gave him a look. "I mean of course I wouldn't," the robot corrected himself. "Even though musca domestica is a useless creature."

Lizzie still looked unsure. She tugged on her father's shirt anxiously. "Daddy, can we go now?" she asked.

Andrews smiled. "Sure thing, sweety!" He held her hand and led her out of the room. Just before they rounded the corner he yelled back, "R.S.V.P. quick, Shadow!"

Shadow grunted and sat back down on his bench.

Rouge scratched her chin thoughtfully. "I suppose we should call you the 'Ultimate Babysitter' now, shouldn't we?"

Shadow stared at his feet. "Enough joking," he told the bat. "You're starting to sound like a certain blue hedgehog."

Rouge snorted.

At that moment, the ground rumbled ever so slightly. But almost as soon as it had begun, it stopped.

Rouge folded her arms over her chest, glancing curiously around the room. "Did you guys feel that?"

"Affirmative," Omega answered. "An earthquake many miles away. Conditions are now stable."

"An earthquake? Hmm…how common is that?" Rouge wondered. "What do you think, Shad…?" She looked to the bench, but he was no longer there. "Shadow?"

A few hallways away, the black hedgehog was racing towards the Level Ten Workshop. _I think I have an idea as to what might be causing this… _Shadow slid to halt inside of the lab.

A young blonde girl turned in her desk chair to look at him. "Shadow! Did you feel those tremors?

"That's exactly why I'm here, Hope," Shadow confirmed. He nodded to a machine in the corner, the Zone-Breaching Platform, which he had used to travel to the Special Zone to retrieve a Chaos Emerald for one of his missions. "Have you detected any suspicious activity in the Special Zone?"

Hope typed quickly on her computer. "Nope. Nothing. But I can see why you'd think that was the source of the earthquake. A zone filled with Chaos Emeralds and ruled by a giant panda? That's pretty crazy, all right."

Shadow shook his head. "I don't like this. Earthquakes, an albino echidna…" he snapped his fingers. "Perhaps the two are connected." Shadow skated to the door. "I'm going to speak with Commander Tower. We need to try and pinpoint the location of the earthquake."

Hope nodded. "Right." She watched Shadow disappear around the corner and sighed. "I've got a bad feeling about this…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Investigating**

Sonic sped through New Mobotropolis. Many of the citizens just barely got out of the way before he barreled into them. The blue hedgehog grinned in anticipation. _All right, Eggman, what are you up to this time? I'm prepared for whatever you can dish-out! _Finally, he spotted his two friends just outside of Castle Acorn. He skidded to a stop, accidentally kicking up some dirt in their faces. "Whoops!" Sonic sweatdropped. "Sorry, guys!"

Tails brushed the remnants of the path off his chest fur. "That's okay, Sonic."

"Not again!" Amy groaned as she examined her dirt-covered dress.

"You guys felt the earthquake, right?" Sonic asked. "The city was shakin' like it was in a giant blender!"

The two nodded. "_Everyone_ felt it," Tails said. "Sally is talking to Elias about it now."

"What's there to talk about?" Sonic tapped his foot impatiently. "It was another one Eggman's stupid 'bots! It's probably headed for us now!"

"You think it was Eggman?" Tails raised an eyebrow.

Sonic shuffled his feet. "Well…yeah! Isn't it always?"

"Most of the time, but not always," Tails said. "Could be Naugus, Finitevus, the Suppression Squad…"

"Whoa!" Sonic chuckled. "You're right! We do have a lot of haters…but my money's still on Sunny-side-up-man!"

"I sure hope Knuckles isn't in trouble," Amy sighed worriedly.

"Yeah! What's Rad Red been up to, anyway?" Sonic wondered. "Sure hope he didn't tick someone off and now they're attacking us!"

The doors to the castle creaked open, and Sally stepped out. "Hi, guys," she greeted them.

"Hey, Sal," Sonic ground his fist into his palm. "So, whose butt do I need to spin-dash today?"

Sally shook her head. "We don't know, Sonic. I've gotten Elias to organize a Council meeting later this afternoon. We're going to figure out what that earthquake was, and then we're going to find Knuckles."

Sonic gave a thumbs-up and winked. "Sounds like a plan, Sal!"

"There's just one more Mobian I need to speak with." Sally cupped her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice. "Nicole? I have some questions I need to ask you!"

A few moments passed before a holographic lynx materialized in front of them. "What is it, Sally?"

"How much damage has the earthquake caused?" the princess asked.

"Not much at all, Sally," Nicole reported. "Some of the nanites that make up the buildings are slightly unstable, but they're quickly being repaired."

"Hmm…" Sally rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Has the earthquake directly affected the nanites, perhaps?"

Sonic, Tails, and Amy exchanged worried glances. The whole city was made of nanites. If something was damaging them, it could lead to a huge problem.

"It's still too early to tell," Nicole answered Sally's question.

Sally nodded. "Right. And, umm…" She looked to her friend with concern. "And how have you been feeling, Nicole?"

The lynx smiled at her reassuringly. "I'm fine, Sally. If you'll excuse me, I still have some work to do." And with that, she faded away into nothingness.

Sally watched her disappear and then turned to her friends. "All right. Sonic, I want you at the meeting as well. Amy, Tails, stay close by. If all goes according to plan, we'll be the ones out looking for Knuckles."

"Sure thing, Sally!" Tails nodded.

"Okay!" said Amy.

Sonic grinned. "We'll find that walking temper tantrum! No problem!"

Back at G.U.N. HQ, Team Dark, Commander Tower, and Hope gathered in the Level Ten Workshop. Hope pressed a button on her computer and a screen no one had ever seen before popped up.

Shadow tilted his head to one side. "What is that?"

"It was once used to detect earthquakes," Commander Tower explained. "But there hasn't been a naturally occurring earthquake in a very long time."

Hope nodded. "That's right. So someone caused it to happen. Perhaps intentionally."

"So let's find out where it came from, already," Rouge said.

"Preparing all weapon systems for battle." Omega's hands spun around rapidly and his eyes flashed.

Hope typed on her keyboard, her eyes focused intently on the screen. She stopped typing and squinted curiously. "Huh. That's odd…"

"What's odd?" Shadow tried to understand what was on the screen, but it was too cluttered with techno-babble.

Hope shook her head. "It says there hasn't been any earthquakes…" she mumbled to herself and started typing again, trying to get another result.

The Commander narrowed his eyes. "What is going on here…?"

"Commander Tower, sir!"

Everyone turned to the door. A breathless Andrews stood before them, his eyes wide with shock.

"What's the problem, Agent Andrews?" Tower asked calmly.

Andrews panted. "Someone has…someone has broken into the secret stash of nanites, sir! They're gone! All of the nanites are gone!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Meeting**

The sun was just beginning to set as the Council of Acorn entered the civic center. Sonic and Sally stood just outside, waiting for the meeting to begin. Sonic nodded to Tails and Amy over by the fountain. "How's it hanging, guys?" he asked.

"We're good, Sonic!" Tails smiled. "All ready to go!"

Amy blew him a kiss.

Sonic sweatdropped. He turned to Sally, who was focused on her handheld. "Yo, Sal, how come we ain't havin' the meeting in the usual place? Ya know, the castle?"

"Nicole says the nanites in the castle are especially unstable," Sally answered. "It will be much safer to do this in the civic center."

Sonic scratched his nose. "If you say so…"

King Elias Acorn stepped out the door of the civic center. He smiled at his sister. "All right, Sally. We're ready to begin the meeting."

Sonic and Sally entered the building. The council members were talking to one another about what had transpired earlier that day.

Penelope Platypus groaned, massaging the sides of her head. "It's terrible! Just terrible! I really picked the wrong day to un-pack my fine china. It's all in pieces, now…"

"Oh my," Rosemary Prower shook her head. "That _is _terrible!"

Hamlin rested his head in his hands. "This is ridiculous. The ground shakes a little, and we have to have a whole meeting about it! It's not like much, if any, damage was done!"

Dylan twiddled his thumbs nervously. "Yeah. But don't forget, Knuckles has been missing for awhile. We have to discuss what's to be done about that, too…"

Hamlin snorted. "He'll come back eventually, I'm sure. He's tough as nails, that guy! Besides, we have other heroes here who can protect us!"

"This whole thing has me worried," Rotor Walrus said. "First Knuckles disappears on a mission, and now there's been an earthquake. Maybe it's silly to think, but, maybe the two are connected?"

Sir Charles Hedgehog nodded. "It's certainly possible." he noticed Sonic come into the room and called to him. "Hey, sonny!"

Sonic waved. "Hey there, Uncle Chuck!"

Sally stood next to him, speaking into her handheld. "Are you ready, Nicole?"

"Ready, Sally." Nicole materialized into the room. "Let's begin."

Elias sat at the head of the council and attempted to make himself heard over the talking. "All right, everyone! Let's begin the meeting!" The room slowly quieted down. The King cleared his throat. "Now, Sally, we're here to discuss the recent earthquake as well as Knuckles' disappearance, yes?"

"Yes, your Highness," Sally confirmed. "The effects of the earthquake seem to have been minimal. Nicole has informed me that the tremors seem to have made some of the nanites unstable. They are in the process of being repaired now. We still have not been able to find the source of this earthquake. But based on the effect it had on the nanite's structure, I'm guessing it wasn't natural."

Elias nodded, looking thoughtful. "Yes, I see. Rotor, I understand you've been doing some research on the earthquake, correct? Have you found out anything?"

Rotor sighed. "Nope. Sorry."

"And what about the Chaotix Leader's disappearance?" Elias addressed his sister once more.

"Knuckles went on a mission a few weeks ago," Sally explained. "He did not inform his teammates of where he was going, and he ordered them not to follow him."

Sonic face-palmed. "Oh, Knucklehead…"

"What do you propose we do about this, Sally?" Elias inquired.

"Well, I propose that we…" Sally trailed off when she noticed her friend, Nicole, acting very strangely. "What's the matter, Nicole?"

Sonic gave her a look. "Yo, Nicole!" he raised his voice a little. "You spacing out or something?" Then he chuckled. "I don't blame ya; I'm a little bored, myself."

Elias and all the members of the Council of Acorn watched the holographic lynx worriedly. She stood perfectly still, staring off into space.

Sally frowned and placed her hands on Nicole's shoulders. "Nicole? Is something bothering you? Come on, talk to me…"

"Okay, okay," Sonic said. "That is seriously freaky. What's she doing?"

"I haven't the foggiest," Sally answered.

Nicole's pupils turned to the size of pinholes. She groaned and fell to her knees, gripping the sides of her head.

Sally knelt beside her friend, her calmness beginning to fade. "Nicole? Nicole? What's happening? Nicole?"

The quiet in the room was gone now. All the council members began speaking to one another anxiously. Elias was the last one to remain calm. He squinted curiously at the hologram on the floor.

Sonic walked over to the two of them. "What's going on?!" he shouted over the commotion.

"Isn't it obvious?!" Sally yelled back. "She's in pain!"

Sonic scratched his head. "Uhh, hello? She's a _hologram_, Sal! She _can't _be in pain!"

Sally glared at him. "Then what do you call _this_, Sonic?!"

Nicole whimpered and dug her fingers into her hair. A single tear slid down her cheek.

"I…uhh…" Sonic stammered. He couldn't fathom why or how this could be happening. It made no sense.

Then the rumbling started. Though, it wasn't nearly as intense as before.

"Everyone!" Elias raised his voice over the noise. "We should end this meeting now! It may not be safe here!" he directed them to the doorway.

The council filed slowly out of the building. The rumbling continued, and it was starting to get worse. Elias found that his sister and Sonic were still with Nicole. "Sally!" he called to her. "We have to go!"

Sally looked between him and Nicole, conflicted. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Sonic smiling at her. "Don't worry, Sal! I'll take care of Nicole!"

Sally hesitated a moment, then she nodded. "Okay. Okay." She followed Elias out the door to where the others were waiting.

Sonic felt something falling onto his head, specks of something. He looked at the ground by his shoes. Tiny little pebbles. Bits of the ceiling. The tremors were more intense than they'd ever been. Sonic leaned closer to Nicole so she could hear him. "Nicole! We gotta move! Now! Things are gettin' hairy!"

Nicole struggled to stand up, but immediately fell back down again. "I…I can't!" she cried.

Sonic grabbed her arms and pulled as hard as he could, but she wouldn't budge. Then he saw her feet. They were bonded to the nanites in the floor. Sonic gritted his teeth. "DARN IT!" Another shower of pebbles fell onto them.

"Sonic!" Nicole shouted. "Forget me! Get out of here!"

"No way!" Sonic shouted back. If Nicole could now feel pain like flesh and blood Mobians, she could be killed like flesh and blood Mobians, too. And he wasn't about to leave her there to perish.

"Sonic!"

The blue hedgehog saw Sally standing in the doorway. She was about to run into the civic center but Elias pulled her back. Just as that happened, the nanites engulfed the doorway, sealing it off completely. "What the?!" Sonic's eyes widened. "What are ya doin', Nicole?!"

"I di-didn't do that!" Nicole stared in shock.

Now rocks were falling from the ceiling, and Sonic was knocked away from Nicole. A wall of debris now separated them. Sonic could feel the rumbling rattle his bones. He struggled to stand up. A fairly sizable rock bounced off his head. Sonic yelled out in pain and fell backwards. More ceiling debris was falling onto the ground around him. The tremors were so intense; he could no longer stand on his own two feet. He crawled through the dust and over the rocks, trying to reach Nicole. Finally, he found her. She was where he had left her, and she seemed miraculously unharmed. Sonic put his arms around her protectively, coughing as the dust filled his lungs, and squinting as it stung his eyes. The unbearably loud roar of the earthquake was all around him.

"Sonic!" Nicole sobbed, clinging to him. "I'm scared!"

"It's okay!" Sonic assured her. "I won't let you get hurt! I promise!" He heard another strange sound through the rumbling. Looking around, he noticed several large cracks snaking through the walls and—"The windows!" Sonic shouted. He ducked his head just in time as the glass shattered. Nanites swarmed to where the windows had been, and filled the openings. There was no getting out now.

"No! We're trapped!" Nicole cried.

Sonic saw the wall beginning to lean forwards. It was ready to cave in at any moment. He knew it was probably futile, but nonetheless, he dashed forward and pressed his palms against the wall. He took a deep breath, gathering all the strength he could muster, and pushed as hard as he could, trying to force the wall back into place.

"Sonic!" he heard Nicole gasp behind him.

Sonic could feel beads of sweat falling down his face. His legs felt rubbery. His heart was pounding. The ground rumbled at his feet. "COME ON!" he shouted in fury.

Then, suddenly, it stopped. Everything stopped. The ground was still, and the wall was no longer collapsing. The only sound was Sonic's exhausted breathing, and Nicole's terrified whimpers. Sonic stumbled away from the wall, and walked slowly back towards his friend. As he reached her, he found that her feet had now been freed from the floor. Sonic used the last bit of his strength to lift Nicole into his arms. His legs shook with the effort. "All right…okay," he panted. "We'll…find a way out of here, Nicole. Don't worry." Sonic stumbled forwards, surveying the damage.

"So-Soni…" Nicole attempted to speak, though her voice was nearly gone from all of the yelling.

Sonic was barely able to take another step forward before it happened. A thunderous crash split apart the silence. Everything, all at once, fell apart around them. Then, there was nothing left but darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The Security Tapes**

Shadow stared into the giant, empty vault. It was just as Andrews had said: the door of the vault had been torn off, and all of the nanites had been taken.

Rouge shook her head. "Who could have done this?"

Omega walked up to the vault, his clanking footsteps echoing off the empty space. A red light was emitting from his eyes, washing over the vault. The light clicked off, and Omega reached down to the floor, grasping something in his metallic claw. "A DNA sample," he said.

Shadow squinted at the object in the robot's hand. It was a tiny white hair.

"Well, uhh, I'm sure that will be very useful but…"

Team Dark turned to look at Andrews, who was pointing to a security camera, mounted to one corner of ceiling. "…we could just look at the security footage instead," he chuckled nervously. Everyone sweatdropped.

Commander Tower gave the agent a look. "Yes, that should…probably be the first thing we do."

The group entered an adjacent room, lit only by the dim glow various monitors. Agent Andrews seated himself in front of the largest screen, and fed the tape into the machine under it. "Whoever took the nanites was pretty sloppy about it," the agent said. "He didn't even bother to try and disable the camera."

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "He wasn't _that _sloppy. He managed to get into G.U.N. HQ without anybody noticing him."

Andrews sighed. "Yeah…that's true…"

An image flickered onto the screen: the empty room with the vault that housed the nanites. The door was still on its hinges. Then, he appeared. A white-furred echidna, with tiny spectacles and several rings wrapped around his arms. He slowly approached the vault.

"Th-that's him!" Andrews pointed. "That's the albino echidna!"

Rouge wrinkled up her nose. "Sure is ugly…"

The echidna gripped the handle of the vault tightly. His rings were enveloped in a bright golden light, and a green aura surrounded his fists.

"That green energy is chaos energy, isn't it, Shadow?" Commander Tower asked.

"Yes," Shadow nodded. "He must have gotten hold of a Chaos Emerald somehow…or perhaps he even absorbed some energy from the Master Emerald."

Everyone watched as the albino echidna ripped the door of the vault off its hinges and tossed it to the ground. The nanites immediately rushed out of the vault. The floor was a sea of tiny metallic particles. All at once the nanites converged on the echidna, covering his entire body. The screen went dark.

"That was very strange," Rouge commented. "That guy really has a thing for nanites."

"It seems almost as though the nanites we're drawn to him," Shadow said.

"Perhaps because the life form emits a high amount of chaos energy," Omega hypothesized.

"We should search the base, just to make sure nothing else has been taken," Commander Tower said. "Agent Andrews, I want you to take a look at Sectors A-B. And Team Dark, check Sectors C-Z."

Rouge groaned. "That's going to take forever…"

"Then we better get started," Shadow nodded to the door. "Let's get going, team!"

"Fine, fine," Rouge sighed, lazily departing from the room.

Omega followed her out. "Mission in progress. Readying jet boosters."

Andrews chuckled. "You always stick them with the most work!"

"Indeed," The Commander sniffed. "They are the most capable agents we have."

Andrews grinned and pointed to himself. "Well, what about me, sir?" he asked. "If you wanna give me just a little extra work, I'd be fine with…"

"No, no," Commander Tower cut him off. "I'm fine with giving you more simple missions. Your brain would surely overload if I gave you any more work than I already do…"

Andrews frowned. "Well, you didn't have to be so blunt," he mumbled.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Making a Plan**

Sally stared at the remains of the civic center, her hands trembling. Elias stood next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders. A large crowd had already begun to gather around the rubble. It was nearly the entire population of New Mobotropolis, in fact. Some friends of Sonic, others acquaintances, but they all wore the same expressions of fear and disbelief on their faces. Their anxious voices filled the air.

"I can't believe there was another earthquake!"

"The civic center has been destroyed!"

"Was there anybody in there?"

"Where's Sonic?"

Tails shook his head. Tears started to well up in his eyes. "Oh, no…no no no no …."

"Sonic!" Amy cried. She wrapped her arms around Sally, who was still frozen in shock.

Vector the Crocodile had just arrived on the scene with Espio and Charmy. He examined the wreckage with wide eyes. "WHOA! What the heck happened here?!"

Espio grimaced. "The earthquake destroyed that building…with Sonic still inside."

Charmy Bee gasped and put his hands over his mouth.

"He…he can't be gone…" Amy sniffed. She held onto her friend Sally even tighter.

Sally stared down at the pink hedgehog. A single tear slid down her cheek. But then, she narrowed her eyes in determination. _No, _she thought. _I refuse to believe that…_Sally carefully wriggled out of Amy's arms and ran to the pile of rubble.

Elias blinked in surprise. "Sally…?"

The distraught princess began tossing aside the smaller rocks, trying to reach him. "Sonic, are you all right? Sonic, answer me! Please!"

Amy just shook her head. "No….Sally…"

Elias placed a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder. "Sally, please stop that," he said quietly. "You're only making things worse…"

Sally looked as though she barely heard him. She continued digging through the debris frantically. "No…no…I have to find…I have to…"

"Sal…?" A muffled voice came from the rubble. "Is…that you?"

Sally's eyes widened. "S-Sonic…?"

Elias turned to address the crowd, who continued to chatter away. "EVERYONE! I NEED QUIET!" The crowd immediately went silent. They looked to their leader curiously.

"Sonic? Is that you?" Sally asked breathlessly.

"The…one and only," he replied before breaking into a coughing fit.

Sally stumbled over the rocks, heading towards the source of the voice. "I need some help over here!" She shouted to the crowd.

"I got it!" Vector stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. The crocodile knelt down and lifted up a huge chunk of the building. He tossed it aside with a grunt.

A few moments later, Sonic emerged from the rubble. He was covered in filth. He struggled to stand up, his legs shaking violently. "H-hey, dudes! What's up?" he coughed through his words.

Once the crowd caught sight of him, the air filled with cheering and applause.

Sonic pumped his fists in the air, despite his exhausted state. "Th-thank you! Thank you, everyone!" He coughed again. "Thanks for comin' out! I'll be here all week!" He gave a thumbs-up to Vector. "Thanks for diggin' me outta there!"

The crocodile grinned. "No prob, Sonic!"

Sally put her arm around Sonic's waist to keep him from falling over. "Sonic, please sit down! You might have internal injuries!" The blue hedgehog did as she said and plopped down on the ground. Sally smiled in relief. "I'm so glad you're all right, Sonic…"

"SONIC!" Amy shouted at the top of her lungs as she charged towards the hedgehog. She hugged him so hard Sonic thought his eyes might pop out of his head. "YOU'RE OKAY!" She sobbed with joy.

Tails approached him and breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought you were a goner for sure!"

Sonic winked. "No way! Ya can't keep a super-speedy hedgehog down!" He bumped fists with his best buddy.

Sally glanced around. "Sonic? Where is Nicole?"

The smile disappeared from Sonic's face. "I donno, Sal. She just disappeared when everything came tumbling down…"

"She's over here, Princess!"

Sally whipped her head around. Espio was kneeling beside Nicole a couple yards away. Sally hurried over to her. "Nicole! Nicole, are you okay?" The lynx looked up at her shakily, her eyes wide. "Are you hurt?" Sally asked.

Nicole shook her head. "No, Sally," she answered, her voice barely above a whisper. She stumbled to her feet, seemingly in a daze. "I must repair the building now, Sally." Nicole raised her arms into the air. The pieces of the building began to blink, flickering in and out of existence. Nicole watched in shock as the rubble began disappearing altogether.

Sonic dashed over to her, raising an eyebrow. "Now what?"

Nicole stared at the vanishing structures in desperation. She dropped to her knees.

Vector scratched his head. "This is freaky stuff!"

Soon enough, all of the rubble had disappeared completely. In its place, was a sea of millions of red nanites.

"And things just got freakier!" Sonic sighed.

"Nicole, are those nanites?" Sally asked, backing away from the stuff.

Nicole shook her head slowly. "No, Sally. I don't know what they are…"

Amy whipped out her hammer. "Well, whatever those things are, they can't be good! They just ate up all the nanites!"

Tails pointed. "Look! What's it doing?"

The crowd tried to get closer to get a better look, but Elias kept them back.

The tiny red particles were amassing, shaping themselves into some sort of large object.

At this point, the crowd had grown much smaller, many of its members running from the strange, terrifying creature before them. Those remaining watched as the red substance formed a giant television screen in front of them. After a few moments of static, a face appeared on the screen, grinning widely at them.

Vector's jaw dropped. "No way! It's…It's DOCTOR FINITEVUS!"

The albino echidna chuckled. "Thank you for the introduction, Vector. Now, everyone, you're probably wondering what exactly _these _are, yes?" he motioned to the sides of the screen. "I call them 'anti-nanites.' They're created using a combination of nanites and…well…let's just say the second ingredient is a secret…"

"What do you want, Finitevus?" Sally yelled at him.

"Well, I could not find Knuckles in any of his usual places, so I thought he may be here," he explained.

"We don't know where Knux is," Vector said.

"Yeah!" Charmy piped up. "And even if we _did _know, we wouldn't tell _you!_" he stuck his tongue out at the villain.

Finitevus sighed. "That's too bad. I was looking forward to seeing him again…" He narrowed his eyes. "Now hear this: if you don't want a repeat of what happened here today, you will bring Knuckles to me."

"Nuh-uh!" Sonic shook his head. "Not gonna happen!"

"Do you think I'm bluffing?" Finitevus gritted his razor-sharp teeth.

Sonic gulped nervously. "Uhh…well…"

"You have one week," Finitevus grunted. The screen went dark. The anti-nanites fell back to the ground, and slowly slid away into the darkness.

There was a moment of silence.

"Well, this sucks," Sonic said.

Elias tapped Sally's shoulder. "This would be a great time to hear your plan, Sally."

Sally gave a nod. "Right." She turned to her friends. "Okay, first of all, we need to get Nicole somewhere safe…"

"We'll take care of her," Espio stepped forward. "I know a good place we can hide her."

"Uh-huh," Vector nodded. Then he looked confused. "Wait…we do?"

Charmy shrugged. "Apparently!"

"Very good. Will the rest of your team be going?" Sally asked.

"Nah," Vector answered. "Mighty and Ray are guarding the Master Emerald, and Julie-Su…well…she went after Knuckles. I know, I know. I tried to tell her it was stupid, like all of her plans, but of course she didn't listen to me."

Sally sighed. _That's another member of the Chaotix missing… _"Okay then, Sonic," she continued explaining the plan. "You and Tails track down Knuckles. He's fought Finitevus before; he'll know what to do."

"Can do, Sal!" Sonic grinned.

"Amy and I will go to G.U.N. for assistance…"

"G.U.N.?" Sonic interrupted. "What do we need G.U.N. and Angsty McAngst Pants for?"

"You saw what those anti-nanites can do," Sally countered. "And Finitevus is very powerful. We're going to need back-up."

Sonic tapped his foot impatiently. "Okay, okay, I got it. Can we go now?"

Sally rolled her eyes. "Yes, Sonic."

"All right!" Sonic began to jog away. "Come on, buddy!"

"Coming, Sonic!" Tails took off into the air, following his friend out of the city.

"We should be heading out too, Amy," Sally said.

Amy smiled. "Great! I can't wait to give that stupid albino a taste of my hammer!"

Nicole watched them go with a sigh. _Those things, _she thought with a shiver. _I was powerless to stop them…and Sonic…he was nearly killed…it's all my fault… _Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Espio smiled comfortingly. "Let's go, Nicole. You'll feel much better once we get to the place."

Nicole nodded. "Right…of course…"

Espio led his friends out into the forest.

Vector snickered. "That Espio! Always keepin' secrets!"

"Tell me about it," Charmy mumbled.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Amy's Promise**

Amy and Sally reached the edge of the city of New Mobotropolis. It was nearly dark now, and the crickets were just beginning to chirp. Sally took out her handheld with a sigh. She slipped it into a hidden compartment in the border wall. Amy watched her curiously.

"You're not taking that with you?" the pink hedgehog asked.

Sally shook her head. "I know Nicole. She'll want to be alone with her thoughts for awhile," she answered quietly.

Amy nodded in understanding.

"Excuse me!" A squeaky yell broke through the silence. "Ms. Rose! Princess Sally!"

The two turned to look at the small rabbit scampering towards them, her mother not far behind.

Amy waved. "Hey, Cream! What's up?" she asked.

"Well, I…I was wondering…" Cream shuffled her feet shyly. "I was wondering if…maybe…I could join you on your mission…"

Sally blinked. "You want to come with us?"

Finally, Cream's mother caught up to her. "Oh, Cream!" she said breathlessly. "Please don't just run off like that…"

"I'm sorry, mother," Cream apologized. Her pet chao, Cheese, peaked out from behind her ears. "I just really wanted to go with Ms. Rose and Princess Sally…"

Sally smiled at the little rabbit. "We wouldn't mind taking you with us." She looked up at Cream's mother. "If that's all right with you, Vanilla."

Vanilla looked very unsure. "I…umm…"

"We'll keep her safe," Amy assured her. "After all, she went on a mission with me before, remember? I protected her then, didn't I?"

Cream tugged on Vanilla's dress. "Please, mother? I'll be okay, I promise!"

She sighed, forcing a small smile. "I…I guess it's all right, then…"

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you so much!" Cream jumped up and down excitedly.

The trio passed the city limits and headed out into the forest. Cream waved to her mother as she departed.

"Don't worry!" Amy yelled back to Vanilla. "I'll keep her safe! I promise!"

* * *

Sally pushed aside the many branches that blocked her path. The undergrowth was up to her knees. _The forest is awfully thick here… _"How are you doing, Amy?" she asked her friend.

Amy groaned in aggravation as she untangled a twig from her hair. "I'm fine, I'm fine. But where's Cream?"

"I'm right here!"

Amy tilted her head upwards. Cream and Cheese were flying just above the trees. Amy gasped. "Be careful up there, Cream! It's starting to get dark! You might hit a tree or something!" she warned.

"I'll be okay!" Cream assured her.

"Try not to get too worried about her," Sally said quietly. "You know she can take care of herself."

"I know," Amy sighed. Then she smiled. "She reminds me of Tails when he was younger…he was so ambitious. He worked really hard to become a Freedom Fighter…"

Sally nodded. She snapped a small branch in front of her so she could get by. "You know who else she reminds me of…"

Amy frowned. A look of confusion washed over her face. "No, I don't know. Who?"

"You," Sally smiled at her.

"Oh!" Amy giggled. "Silly me!"

The trees began to thin out, making way for a small clearing. Amy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness," she said.

"It's nearly dark. We should stay here for the night," Sally decided.

"In the woods? Sleeping under the stars?" Cream landed beside them, her eyes sparkling. "How exciting!" She leaned against a giant oak tree, staring up at the sky. Cheese squeaked happily beside her. "Ms. Rose? Cheese and I have been working on this new attack! Would you like to see it?"

Amy yawned and plopped down in a pile of leaves. "How about in the morning, okay? I'm exhausted right now…"

Cream nodded. "Okay, Ms. Rose."

Sally sat next to Amy, picking burs out of her hair. "Get some rest, everyone. We have an early day tomorrow."

A couple hours passed. The moonlight bathed the grass in a silvery glow. Amy blinked her eyes opened and glanced over at the oak tree. Cream was fast asleep, and Cheese was resting on her head. Amy heard the dry leaves crunching beside her. She rubbed her eyes dopily. "Huh?" Sally sat a few feet away, her knees pulled up to her chest. She was staring at a pebble on the ground. Amy sat up. "You're still awake?"

Sally didn't look at her. "Yes," she whispered.

Amy moved closer to Sally, tilting her head to one side. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Sally flicked the pebble at her feet. "I'm just worried about Nicole…"

"The Chaotix will keep her safe from those stupid anti-nanite things," Amy assured her.

"I know," Sally sighed. "She just…she was very shook up after what happened…I just hope she's doing okay."

Amy stared down at the ground. She nodded. "Yeah. Me too," she said quietly.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Sound of Freedom**

Sonic strolled through the small town of Furville with his buddy, Tails. The streets were rather quiet this morning.

"Where is everybody?" Tails wondered.

Sonic yawned loudly, stretching his arms. "Asleep, probably. We can't all be early birds like you, Tails!" he ruffled the fox's hair.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Tails laughed, trying to push his friend back.

Sonic laughed, too. Then suddenly, he fell silent. He stopped walking and scratched his ear. "Huh…?"

Tails stopped beside him. "What is it, Sonic?"

"Do you hear music?" Sonic asked.

Tails listened closely. The sound was very faint, but it was definitely music. Drums and an electric guitar were being played, and there was singing, too. "Yeah, I hear it! I think it's coming from…"

"The square!" Sonic cut him off. "Let's check it out!" He grabbed Tails by the arm and rocketed towards the center of town. In the blink of an eye, they had reached their destination. Sonic screeched to a halt to avoid crashing through the wall of Mobians in front of him.

Tails stumbled forward. He was extremely dizzy after whooshing all over town like that. "Whoa! My head is spinning!"

Sonic chuckled. "Sorry, buddy." He stood up on his tiptoes to peer over the crowd. He grinned when he saw who was performing. "Have a look, Tails!"

Tails hovered just above the heads of the citizens. "It's The Forget Me Knots! That's right; they're on tour right now!"

"Yeah! And they're really rockin'!" Sonic whistled. "Hey, how 'bout givin' me a lift so I can see?"

"Sure thing!" Tails swooped down and grabbed Sonic's hands. He lifted him high up into the air. From there, Sonic could see that the crowd was going absolutely crazy for The Forget Me Knots. Cheering, jumping up and down, pumping their fists in the air. They got even more excited when Mina Mongoose addressed them.

"How are you all doing tonight?!" She shouted.

The crowd chanted her name.

"Awesome! I can see you guys are all super excited, and you should be!" Mina chuckled. "Because we've got a very special treat for you today!" She pointed to the drummer. "HIT IT!" The tempo started out slow, but as the guitarist joined in, it got faster.

"I've never heard this song before!" Sonic yelled over the noise.

"Me neither!" Tails yelled back. "It must be new!"

Mina began to sing. "_I feel my heeeeeeeart…takin' me higheeeeeeeeer…I see the clouds start to disapeeeeeeeeeeeer…I feel the wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind rushin' through my haaaaaaair…I hear the soooooooooound that takes me anywheeeeeeeeere…"_

"YEAH! WOO! GO MINA!" Sonic whistled.

_"It takes me to the tallest tower, it helps me in my darkest hour, tell me can you hear it nooooooooow?"_

The drums thundered away into the refrain.

_ "'Cause it's the soooooound of freeeeedom! 'Cause it's the soooooound of freeeeedom! I can hear it saying all around, 'always get up, when you fall down,' 'Cause it's the soooooound of freeeeedom!"_

"FREEDOM FIGHTERS FOREVER!" Tails cheered.

_"Some days I wondered… where was my freedom? When everythiiiiiiing…was my enemyyyyyyy…but now today…things are better…today I shout…FREEDOM FOREVER!" _

Suddenly, Max broke out into a rocking guitar solo. The crowd cheered even louder.

_ "'Cause it's the soooooound of freeeeedom! 'Cause it's the soooooound of freeeeedom! I can hear it saying all around, 'always get up, when you fall down,' 'Cause it's the soooooound of freeeeedom!...now today, today I shout, forevermore, screamin' out…."_

_"FREEDOM FOREVER!" _The crowd shouted along with Mina.

Mina waved to the crowd. "Thank you, Furville! We love you! Goodnight! Er, uhh, good morning!" she sweatdropped.

As everyone applauded the stupendous concert, Sonic and Tails made their way to the back of the stage. The band was already there, packing up their instruments.

"That was a cool show, dudes," Sharps the Chicken nodded in approval.

"Totally! We rocked!" Max the Monkey plucked a few strings on his guitar.

Mach the Rabbit twirled his drumsticks. "Hey, don't get too cocky, you guys! We still got a lot of shows to play."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with bein' a little cocky now and then!" Sonic grinned. "You guys were great!"

"Yeah we were!" Max bumped fists with the hedgehog.

"That song was great!" Tails said.

"I co-wrote the song, dude," Sharps put on his cool, black shades. "We call it _The Sound of Freedom_. Let me tell ya, it was totally radical working with Mina."

"It always is…"

Everyone turned their heads to see Mina's manager and boyfriend, Ash, approaching them.

"Hi, Ash," Sonic greeted him. "Good thing we happened to be passing by! We just caught the end of the concert!"

"Yep, mm-hmm…" Ash turned to Tails. "So, where are you guys headed?"

Tails shrugged. "We don't know, actually. We're looking for Knuckles right now, and, uhh, there was an earthquake in New Mobotropolis and…" he trailed off. "Well it's a long story."

"Don't worry about it, though," Sonic gave a thumbs-up. "We've got everything under control! Anyway, could we talk to Mina, maybe? I wanna tell her how awesome that new tune was!"

Ash glanced over at the Forget Me Knots' trailer. He raised an eyebrow at Sonic and sniffed. "Mina's tired right now. She needs to rest up for the next show."

"Uhh, all right, dude," Sonic gave him a look. "That's fine. Really. We get it. We don't need the attitude."

"Heh, you're one to talk," Ash snapped. "You're all about attitude." He narrowed his eyes.

Tails looked between the two of them worriedly. "Sonic…"

"Come on, buddy, let's get going," Sonic was already walking away from them.

"Uhh, guess I'll see ya later," Tails said quickly to Ash. He chased after his friend with a sigh.

"See ya," Ash mumbled.

"Sonic!" Tails panted as he jogged through the streets of Furville.

Sonic slowed his pace. He smiled. "Come on, we got places to go!"

Tails blinked in surprise. Sonic had been pretty disgruntled just a moment ago, but now he seemed as peppy as ever. "Uhh, yeah, okay…let's go!"

"What's up, dude?" Sonic frowned.

"Oh, nothing," Tails sighed. "I just wish you and Ash would get along better…"

Sonic snorted. "Well, that ain't my fault! Let the guy be grumpy and hostile if he wants to!" He grinned widely. "Anyway, we got more important things to do! Yeah! Let's do it to it!" The hedgehog shot down the path like a bullet, leaving Tails scrambling to catch up with him.

"What the?! Hey, Sonic! Wait up!" Tails began spinning his twin tails, and flew after his speedy friend into the forest.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Remembering **

"Mission completed!" Rouge announced, her voice echoing off the walls of the empty hallway. She wiped some sweat off her forehead. "It's about time!"

"Let us report our findings to Commander Tower," Omega said.

"Meh," Rouge shrugged. "Not that much to report, but yeah. You coming, Shadow?"

The black hedgehog sat against a wall, looking thoughtful. "No. I need to ponder what that albino echidna could be planning…"

"If you say so." Rouge flew off down the hall. Omega followed her, his jet boosters spewing fire.

_Hmm…now…what would he want with the nanites? _Shadow wondered. _Nanites are used in large numbers to construct machines, buildings…_

"Hey, Shadow! Rouge told me you'd be here!"

"Of course she did," Shadow sighed as Andrews sat down beside him.

"Hmm?" Andrews blinked. "Am I bothering you?"

"No, no," Shadow shook his head. "I was just thinking…"

"Oh!" Andrews chuckled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "So I _am _bothering you!"

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "But I just said I was…"

Andrews interrupted him with a sigh. "Shadow, I know you. You don't _just _think. You _really _think."

"Whatever," Shadow mumbled.

The two sat in silence for awhile. Shadow deep in thought, and Andrews drumming his fingers on the floor. Suddenly, the black hedgehog was jerked out of his thoughts by the sound of crumpling paper. He looked up. Andrews was unfolding a photograph. It was obviously many years old, judging by the wear of the shiny paper, and the ages of the two people in the photo. Andrews was much younger, and there was a lovely redheaded woman standing beside him. They looked like the two happiest people on Mobius.

"That's her, isn't it?" Shadow asked.

Andrews continued to stare at the picture. He smiled a little. "Yeah. That's Ruby."

Shadow noticed the sadness underneath that smile, though. "She seems nice," he said quietly. "I mean, she must be. You're always talking about her."

Andrews chuckled. "Well, 'nice' is a huge understatement. But yeah. She was nice."

Shadow fell silent. He stared down at his feet.

Andrews watched his eyes. He patted the hedgehog's shoulder. "Thinking about Maria again?"

"Well, I…" Shadow cleared his throat. "Yes, I am thinking about her," he admitted. "Our relationship was of a different nature. But I cared about her as deeply as you did for Ruby…"

"I believe it," Andrews smiled. "How come you never talk about her that much?"

Shadow closed his eyes. "The past is behind me."

"It's behind me, too. But you can still tell me about her if you want to."

"I don't," Shadow said simply.

"All right, all right. Changing the subject…" A devious grin spread across Andrew's face. He elbowed Shadow playfully. "How 'bout that food fight, huh?" he laughed.

Shadow sighed, massaging his temple with his thumb and forefinger. "Please be quiet…"

But Andrews just kept on laughing.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Never Alone**

Espio held back the branches of a giant fern so his friends could pass. Vector and Charmy came into the clearing, their eyes wide. Before them was a small log cabin, surrounded by a babbling brook. "Well, this is the place," the chameleon announced.

"Sure looks cozy!" Vector commented.

"Yeah!" Charmy buzzed around excitedly. "Hey, Espio, how come you kept this place a secret from us?"

Espio cleared his throat. "I just…need some peace and quiet sometimes…"

"PEACE AND QUIET?! WHY WOULD YOU NEED THAT?!" Charmy shouted into the chameleon's ear, nearly shattering his eardrum with his high-pitched voice.

Espio flinched. "No reason," he said quietly.

"Let's go check it out!" Vector charged towards the cabin excitedly.

"Yay!" Charmy flew after him.

Espio hung back. He glanced into the forest. Finally, Nicole emerged from the ferns, still staring down at the ground. Espio saw the faraway look in her eyes. He frowned, very concerned for his friend. "Look, Nicole," he said gently, nodding to the cabin behind him. "This is where we'll be staying."

Nicole lifted her head up. Her face was expressionless. "It looks nice," she said. Those were the first words she had spoken since she had left New Mobotropolis.

Espio smiled a little. "I promise you'll feel right at home here."

A short while later, everyone had settled in. There was a large couch set up in front of a lovely stone fireplace. Vector seated himself on the couch and slipped off his shoes. He sighed contently. "Now this is the life…"

"EWW! Vector!" Charmy screwed up his face and covered his nose. "No one wants to smell your stinky feet!"

"Well, no one wants to hear your annoying voice," Vector retorted. He scratched between his toes with an annoyed grunt. "And my feet do _not _smell!"

"They do too, Vector!"

"Do _not_!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Will you two _please _stop that?" Espio interrupted their arguing. His eye twitched in annoyance.

"Sorry," Charmy apologized. "But they do," he mumbled quickly as he flew out of the room.

Espio shook his head and sat beside Vector. He gave the crocodile a look.

Vector blinked. "What?" he shrugged.

"You know what," Espio said. "Nicole is stressed out enough. She doesn't need to listen to you two fight about stupid things."

Vector sniffed. He twiddled his thumbs. "Yeah, you're right," he sighed. "I'm sorry…"

Espio nodded. He looked towards the door, thinking of Nicole. "I think I'll go…" He was interrupted by a loud snort. Espio saw now that Vector was fast asleep. Drool poured out of his mouth and pooled on his chest. Espio rolled his eyes and rose to his feet. "I think I'll go talk to Nicole," he said to himself. The chameleon opened the door of the cabin. The warm, gentle breeze of a summer afternoon came to meet him. He saw Nicole sitting on the edge of the brook. Slowly, he approached her. The lynx stared at the water quietly washing over the rocks, seemingly oblivious to Espio sitting down beside her. She closed her eyes.

"Have you ever had that feeling before, Espio?" Nicole asked quietly. "That feeling of…helplessness?"

Espio glanced over at her. He nodded slowly. "Yes, I have."

Nicole sniffed. She buried her face in her hands. "I…really thought that…" she trailed off, her voice shaky. "I really thought that… I was going to die in there, Espio…"

Espio placed an arm around her shoulders tentatively.

"And I-I…I couldn't do anything…" Nicole trembled. She lifted her head up to look at her friend. "I couldn't save Sonic…I couldn't even save myself…it's a miracle we made it out of there alive…"

Espio exhaled slowly. "Nicole, I…"

"What am I going to do?" She cut him off. "I can't go back. Not after what happened. I can't protect anybody against those things!" She started to tear up.

"Nicole, listen to me," Espio said firmly. "I know you are very strong. I know how much you care about everybody in that city. And they know it, too. And they know that now, you'll be fighting even harder to protect them." He smiled. "And don't forget, you're not alone."

Nicole stared at Espio, her lip quivering. "Espio…thank you." She threw her arms around him. "Thank you for the talk."

Espio hugged her back. "Any time," he whispered.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yeah, I'm a big fan of Espio and Nicole's relationship, obviously. I really enjoyed writing this chapter.**

**So, next time, we'll see what Sonic and Tails are up to. That chapter will be a lot more action-packed...and there'll be a few surprises, as well...**

**Until then, PLEASE drop a review if you have the time. I really like getting feedback.**

**Well, that's all for now! Gotta juice! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Lizards and Hedgehogs**

Sonic and Tails continued their journey through the forest. Tails flew through the air above Sonic. He swooped down closer to his friend. "Where…where should we look first?" Tails panted, trying to keep up with the hedgehog.

Sonic scratched his ear. "Heh! You know what? I have no idea!" he chuckled.

Tails sighed, his shoulders slumped. "Well, we gotta brainstorm some…" He trailed off as a loud rumbling sound filled the air. The ground began to shake.

"Oh, come on!" Sonic slid to a stop. "Not another earthquake!"

Tails landed beside him. He glanced nervously around the forest. His eyes widened in shock as he stared up into the trees. "Sonic, look at that!"

The blue hedgehog looked up. A gigantic, mysterious figure was approaching them. The trees fell away at its feet as it drew closer. Flickies took to the sky to escape it. Sonic squinted. The creature was difficult to make out, as it was silhouetted by the sun. But when the thing turned its head for a moment, Sonic could make out a long, lizard-like jaw, filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. The creature turned its head back towards the hedgehog.

Tails gulped. "C-can it see us?" he stammered.

At that moment, the creature bent its knees and sprung into the air. It was headed straight for them. Sonic smirked. "I guess so!" he said.

There was no time. Tails took off into the air, trying to escape the creature. "SONIC! LOOK OUT!"

Sonic charged away, his feet disappearing into a red blur. He shot straight up a tree and balanced himself on top of it. He wobbled back and forth slightly. There was a thunderous crash as the creature landed beside him. Sonic was thrown out of his tree as it snapped it half. It seemed as though the forest had just exploded around them. Bits of bark, leaves, and rocks flew through the air. Trees collapsed. A cloud of dirt covered the area.

Tails gasped and propelled himself down to the ground. He stumbled through the wreckage, the cloudy air making it difficult to see much of anything. "Sonic!" he called. "Sonic, where are you?" A strange grinding sound broke the silence. Tails looked in its direction. A large metal fist was rocketing towards him. Tails gave a startled yelp and jumped out of the way. The fist collided with the ground, spraying up even more dirt. It was stuck there for a moment, but slowly lifted itself out of the earth. Tails sat very still. He stared at the robot arm and tried to catch his breath. Suddenly, he had an idea. He pulled himself to his feet and began spinning his two tails rapidly. Slowly, the dust began to clear until finally, he could see it. Standing in front of him was a massive, red robot. It looked as though it was modeled after some sort of lizard or maybe an alligator.

A few yards away, Sonic emerged from a pile of branches. He grimaced as he spat out a couple of leaves. "Okay, seriously? That's the second time this week I've almost been buried alive!" he stretched his arm behind his head. He glanced up at the robot, not looking all that surprised. "So, what's your deal?"

The robot raised its spiked fist into the air. "I am Red Lizard! I've been sent here by Dr. Robotnik to exterminate you, Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Heh heh!" Sonic grinned. "That's what I thought!" He turned to Tails and gave a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, buddy! I'll take care of this!"

Tails blinked. "Are you sure, Sonic?" he asked.

"Absolutely!"

Tails shook his head. "We should probably work together. He looks pretty tough."

Sonic snorted. "Really? This guy?" He pointed. "I've beat eggs tougher than him!"

"RRRRRRGH! SHUT UP!" Red Lizard stomped his feet angrily. "JUST LET ME EXTERMINATE YOU ALREADY!"

"My, my! So impatient!" Sonic snickered. "All right, then! Let's go!"

Red Lizard raised his foot to crush him, but Sonic side-stepped out of the way. "Really? Is that all ya got?" the hedgehog taunted him. "It's like you're fightin' in slow-motion, dude!"

Red Lizard growled angrily. He swung his fists through the air. "HOW'S THIS?!"

Sonic dashed out of the way, avoiding all of his blows. "Still pretty slow!" He charged towards him and went up his leg.

Red Lizard spun around, trying to find the hedgehog. "HEY! WHERE'D YA GO?!" He looked over his shoulder, then looked up. Sonic had run all the way up to his head.

Sonic grinned smugly. "Ya know, the flashy entrance _was _pretty impressive, I'll give you that. But, man!" he shook his head. "You really suck at the whole 'exterminating' thing!"

"DO NOT!" Red Lizard plucked the hedgehog off his head with his huge metal claw.

Sonic dangled upside down by his foot. "Whoops! Should have been paying more attention there…."

Red Lizard squinted at his enemy curiously. His eyes began glowing green.

"Get out of there, Sonic!" Tails shouted.

Sonic squeezed his eyes shut as the green light washed over him. But after just a few moments, the light turned off. Sonic blinked. "Well, that was annoying," he said. "What was that all about?"

"You've ingested quite a few nanites," Red Lizard informed him.

_I got some nanites in my stomach? _Sonic thought. _That must've happened when the civic center collapsed on me…_

"Why would you eat nanites?" Red Lizard asked. "I thought rodents like you ate bugs!"

"Bugs?!" Sonic stuck his tongue out in disgust. "EWW! No way! I eat chili dogs!"

Red Lizard scratched his head in confusion. "Chili dogs? Why…Why would a hedgehog eat….? I don't…RRRRRRRGH! THIS BOTH CONFUSES AND INFURIATES ME!"

Sonic shook his head. "Whoa, dude. Take a chill pill."

"I'M GOING TO CRUSH…" Suddenly, Red Lizard's arm snapped off. Sonic fell to the ground, still trapped in the robot's fist.

Tails ran up to him. "Sonic! Are you all right?"

Sonic struggled out of the fist and stumbled to his feet. "Yeah, I'm good. But what's…?" He turned back to Red Lizard. The robot's limbs were being torn to bits by a strange green blur. In just a few moments the robot was reduced to a pile of rubble. "Whoa!" Sonic blinked. "Good thing whoever did that is on our side!"

"Guess again, Blue!"

"Wha…?" The green blur collided with Sonic, carrying him off his feet and smashing him into a nearby tree. Sonic groaned in pain. He could feel a fist in his stomach, holding him against the tree. Sonic glared at his attacker. "Scourge!"

The green hedgehog grinned. "I gotta say, I _really _missed you, wuss! You're my favorite punching bag!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: In His New World**

Sally led the way out of the forest and into a small orchard. The sun was very hot that afternoon, but a gentle breeze kept them all cool. Sally noticed the grass was quite tall, and most of the apples in the trees looked bruised and unappetizing. _This orchard must be abandoned, _Sally thought.

"Hey, Sally!" Amy called to her friend. "Cream's getting tired! Could we maybe rest for a bit?"

Sally stopped by one of the larger trees. She kicked a half-eaten apple across the ground. "Yeah, I guess we can take a break," she smiled. "We are getting pretty close to G.U.N. HQ, after all."

Amy sat under a tree, the shade keeping her cool. Cream sat beside her, frowning. "I'm awfully hungry, Ms. Rose," the rabbit rubbed her tummy. "Can't we eat some of these apples?"

Amy looked up into the branches, examining the fruit that hung from them. She grimaced. "I don't think so, Cream," she sighed. "Those things look pretty rotten."

Sally nodded in agreement. "Yeah," she surveyed the orchard curiously. "These trees obviously haven't been cared for properly in many years. Whoever took care of them must have left a long time ago…"

"Well, if I lived here, I would never leave!" Cream said cheerfully. "Would you, Cheese?"

The chao shook his head.

Amy got up and paced around the orchard. "There's gotta be at least one good apple in this place!" She threw her arms in the air.

"How about that one, Ms. Rose?" Cream pointed.

Amy squinted at the top branch of one of the taller trees. An apple hung there, perfectly red, the sun reflecting off its surface. Amy grinned. "Wow! Good eye, Cream!"

"I'll go get it!" Cream flew towards the tree, Cheese squeaking excitedly at her side.

Sally smiled at the young rabbit's enthusiasm. But then, her smile faded when she noticed a pair of blue eyes watching Cream from the branch below. Sally couldn't make out who it was. They were hiding in the shadows.

Amy noticed her panicked expression. "What's wrong, Sally?" she asked.

At that moment, the shadowy figure burst forth from the leafs. Sally immediately recognized him as Predator Hawk. Cream did not notice the deadly predator coming for her. "CREAM!" Sally shouted at the top of her lungs. "GET OUT OF THERE!"

Cream turned around. Her eyes widened with fear at the sight of the horrible hawk lunging at her, razor-sharp claws outstretched. She let out a terrified shriek and made a beeline for her friends. Cheese reached them first, and took shelter behind Amy.

Amy whipped out her hammer and charged at the hawk. "Leave her alone!"

Just as Cream reached the ground, Predator Hawk pounced on her. He held her up by her ears. "No more flying," he grunted. He watched Amy through narrowed eyes. "Don't take another step." Predator Hawk brushed his claw lightly along Cream's neck. "Or I'll slit her throat."

Amy slid to a stop. She dropped her hammer at her feet, glaring at the villain.

"What do you want, Predator Hawk?" Sally asked calmly.

"I know you're trying to get help from someone," Predator Hawk answered. "I'm here to stop you from doing that."

Sally narrowed her eyes. "So, you're working for Finitevus now, is that it? What would you possibly have to gain from that alliance?"

Predator Hawk glared down at Cream. She was struggling to free herself from his claws. "Once Doctor Finitevus reaches full power, well…" A crooked smile spread across his face. "There's only room for a few in his new world. Needless to say you three, Knuckles, and the rest of your little friends…are not a part of that world."

"Finitevus promised not to kill you or the rest of the Destructix if you helped him," Sally concluded. "He promised you power."

Predator Hawk grinned greedily.

"Cheese! Now!" Cream shouted.

Cheese flew out from behind Amy and rocketed towards Predator Hawk. As he did, he folded himself into a ball and spun rapidly. The chao collided with the bird, causing him to drop Cream and sending him flying into a nearby tree. Cream gave the little chao a big hug. "That was wonderful!" she said. "You were so brave, Cheese!"

Amy ran to Cream and knelt down beside her. "Are you okay?" she asked, already checking her for wounds.

Cream nodded. "I'm fine. My ears are just a little sore, that's all!"

"That was amazing!" Sally complemented.

"Thank you," Cream smiled shyly. "That was the new attack was I telling you about before. Cheese and I worked really hard on it!"

"It shows," Sally said.

Predator Hawk jumped to his feet with an angry growl. He rubbed his beak. "You will pay for that."

"Stop!" Someone jumped down from the trees and landed in front of Predator Hawk.

"Lightning Lynx?" Sally's eyes widened.

Amy groaned. "Great! There's more of 'em!"

"Out of my way!" Predator Hawk shouted at his teammate.

"We're outnumbered," Lightning Lynx told him.

Predator snorted. "You're counting that little blue runt?"

"We had no idea that 'little blue runt' could fight. Who knows what else they're capable of?"

Predator glared.

Lightning glared back. "We fall back for now."

Predator sighed. "Fine."

Lightning took off into the woods, Predator Hawk close behind.

Amy heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness…"

Sally looked around the clearing warily. "I think we should keep moving…"

"Oh! Wait a moment!" Cream flew over to one of the trees and came back with the ripe apple. "We can eat this on the way!"

Amy chuckled. "Of course! We can't travel with empty stomachs, now can we?"

Cream handed the apple to Sally and she divided it between them. As the trio walked along, Sally noticed a small pink cabin in the distance. It was decrepit, and looked as though it might collapse at any second.

"He's making more anti-nanites, isn't he?" Amy said, breaking the silence. "That must be his plan. That's how he's going to reach full power…"

Sally stared down at her feet. She couldn't stand the thought that there could be more anti-nanites. Then she looked up, determination burning in her gaze. "We won't give him the chance to do that, Amy. We won't."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Team Dark Rose **

Rouge and Omega entered Commander Tower's office. "We're back!" Rouge announced.

Tower turned to face the two agents. "Have you found anything?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Negative," Omega answered.

Tower nodded. He turned back to the window, narrowing his eyes. "What does that echidna want with those nanites…?" The answer would come sooner than he thought. Just then, the phone on his desk started ringing. Commander Tower answered it promptly. "What is it, Agent Andrews?" he asked. As Tower listened to the agent's response, a look of curiosity washed over his face. "Hmm…I see…"

Omega turned his head down to look at Rouge. The bat shrugged.

"Escort them to my office immediately, Andrews." Commander Tower hung up the phone.

"So, what was that all about?" Rouge asked.

"A princess from New Mobotropolis has come to us for assistance," Tower said. "Apparently, she knows all about this mysterious echidna and what he's planning."

Rouge's eyes widened. "Wow! A princess came to us for help?" Then she smiled smugly. "Well, aren't we important!"

Meanwhile, several hallways away, Agent Andrews and Shadow lead Princess Sally and her friends to the Commander's office.

"So, you know these girls, Shadow?" Andrews asked.

The hedgehog nodded, looking over at Amy and Cream. "Yes. Our paths have crossed before."

Amy crossed her arms and glared. "Oh, our paths have crossed, all right. Like that time you took my hammer and smacked me across the face with it. Remember that?"

Shadow's look softened. "I remember. I'm sorry about that."

Amy blinked, her eyes filling with surprise. She had not been expecting an apology. She looked down at her feet, embarrassed about her little outburst. "Uhh, yeah…apology accepted," she mumbled shyly.

Sally looked between the two of them curiously. This is the first she'd heard of Shadow and Amy's confrontation.

"Is Mr. Robot here?" Cream asked.

"Yes, he is," Shadow answered.

"Aww! She's so cute!" Andrews patted Cream on the head.

Cream giggled. "Thank you, Mister…umm…"

"Andrews," the agent said with a grin.

Finally, the group reached Commander Tower's office. Andrews held the door open for the Mobians.

Cream scampered over to Omega. She waved shyly. "Hello, Mister Robot. Do you remember me?"

Omega's eyes flashed. "Searching memory banks…match found: Cream the Rabbit. Threat level: one."

"Yay!" Cream squealed. "You remember me!"

Commander Tower watched the three newcomers curiously. "I believe introductions are in order…"

Sally walked up to the Commander's desk. "Hello, Commander Tower. I am Princess Sally Acorn of New Mobotropolis."

"My name's Amy Rose," the pink hedgehog introduced herself. "I'm a member of the Knothole Freedom Fighters."

"My name is Cream," the bunny smiled. "Nice to meet you."

Amy elbowed her.

"Oh! And I'm a Freedom Fighter, too!" Cream added quickly.

Rouge snorted. "Really? Her? How does she fight? Does she just sit there and look cute?"

Amy shot a glare at the bat.

Commander Tower glanced between them, looking bored with their little argument. He turned back to Sally. "Princess Sally, please tell me everything you know about the albino echidna."

Sally cleared her throat. "Of course, Commander…" She went on to tell him all about Doctor Finitevus's plans with the anti-nanites, and what exactly this invention could do.

Commander Tower nodded as he listened to her. "And you'd like Team Dark to assist you in fighting him?"

"That's correct, Commander," Sally confirmed.

"All right, then. Omega?" Tower turned to the robot. "Do you still have that hair you found in the vault?"

"Affirmative," Omega tapped his chest with his finger. "I have been storing it in my chest compartment."

"Can we use it to track this Finitevus guy?" Rouge asked.

"Well, _we _can't track him," Commander Tower replied. "But I know someone who can. A Mobian rabbit that lives in a village not too far from here. She has a machine that can track just about anyone, provided they have their DNA sample…"

Rouge's eyes widened. "Impressive!"

"I'll say!" Amy nodded.

Commander Tower opened a drawer in his desk and took out a small device. "Here, Omega," he handed it to the robot. "In this flash-drive is a map of the area. Use it to find Honeysuckle Village."

"Honeysuckle Village?" Cream smiled. "That sounds like a lovely place!"

Cheese squeaked in agreement.

Omega opened up his chest and plugged in the flash-drive. "Uploading data…data upload complete. Let us proceed with the mission."

"All right, team! Let's move out!" Shadow and Sally said at exactly the same time. They glanced at each other awkwardly. The group headed out the door.

"Oh, hold on a moment, Shadow," Commander Tower said.

The hedgehog turned his head. "What is it?"

"I just wanted let you know that you can request back-up, if need be."

Shadow shook his head. "That won't be necessary, Commander. But thank you." He turned on his heal and left the room briskly.

Andrews smiled a little at Shadow as he came into the hallway. "Good luck, Shadow," he said.

"Thanks," Shadow said quietly.

"We get to go on a mission together, Mister Robot!" Cream held the robot's hand. "Isn't that great?"

"It is great," Omega confirmed.

Cream giggled.

Rouge rolled her eyes.

Amy saw this and sighed. "She really _can _fight, ya know. She's grown a lot since you last met her."

Rouge chuckled. "Well, I'll believe it when I see it, honey!"

"So…umm…" Amy twiddled her thumbs. "I know we don't really…get along so well…but maybe we should at least try to, since we're teamed up together and all." She smiled a little and held out her hand.

"Fine. Whatever." Rouge shook her hand.

Shadow approached Sally and cleared his throat. "Princess, I was just wondering…who should be leader of this team?"

Sally scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm…I haven't thought about that honestly…" She shrugged. "I guess we can both be co-leaders."

"Works for me," Shadow said.

Amy smirked. "Look out, Finitevus! Team Dark Rose is comin' for ya!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: The Hooded One**

The group made their way through the forest. Cream and Rouge, as the team's fliers, were on sky patrol. Sally was worried about another surprise attack from Predator Hawk, or any other member of the Destructix, for that matter. She had no idea how, but it seemed that Finitevus had eyes everywhere. Sally and Shadow lead the way through the trees, with Amy close behind. Omega was having a bit of trouble getting through the deeply wooded area, his wide shoulders constantly bumping into trees, and his fingers getting caught in the undergrowth. Eventually, he lost his temper.

"BLASTED TREES!" Omega shouted. Missile launchers extended from his back. "They must be purged with fire!"

"Cut that out!" Amy yelled at him. "You wanna set this whole forest on fire?!"

"Affirmative!"

"Well, you can't do that! Sally, tell him!"

Sally glanced back at the robot. "Stand down, Omega."

"And control your temper," Shadow added.

Omega looked between the two of them. His shoulders slumped. "My apologies."

"Don't worry," Amy smiled. "When we find that Finitevus, you can purge him with fire instead. How's that?"

"Yes, that is good," Omega replied.

Cream swooped down and landed in front of Sally. "Princess Sally! There's someone up ahead!"

Sally blinked. "Who? One of the Destructix?"

Cream shrugged. "I don't know! They were wearing a black hood, so we can't see their face…"

"Hoods like the Dark Legion has?" Amy asked.

"Nope!" Rouge yelled down to her. "But still, someone wearing a black cloak? Sounds pretty villainy to me…"

"Let us face this villain!" Omega marched forward.

Shadow blocked his way with his arm. "No. We don't know for sure if this is a villain we're dealing with."

Amy nodded. "Shadow's right. So what do we do? Sally?" she turned to her friend.

"Well, I think…"

Rouge interrupted her with a loud sigh. "We don't have time for this…" she flew away in the direction of the mysterious hooded figure.

Sally stared upwards in shock. "Rouge! No! Get back here!" she groaned. She ran after the bat, motioning for the rest of her team to follow her.

Meanwhile, Rouge spotted the hooded figure once more, and landed in their path. She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, what's your deal, pal? You work for Finitevus or what?"

The hooded figure stayed silent. It stepped around the bat and continued on its way. It was headed in the direction of the rest of her team.

"Hey!" Rouge shouted, gritting her teeth. "Get back here, jerk!" she shot forward and gave the hooded one a hard kick to the back. It fell over with a pained grunt.

"Watch it, bat!" the hooded one finally spoke. "You're asking for trouble!"

Rouge blinked. "Huh, a girl. Wasn't expecting that."

The hooded one stumbled to her feet. "And why's that?"

"Oh, no reason," Rouge smirked. "It's just that most girls have better fashion sense…"

"Are you trying to get me angry, bat? It's not working."

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Sure, sure. By the way, quit calling me 'bat'. It's _Rouge _The Bat."

"All right then, Rouge The _Bat_, why don't _you _quit getting in my way!" The hooded one drew a sword from underneath her cloak. She lunged at Rouge, swinging the weapon, but that bat was too quick for her. She easily rolled away from the clumsy attack.

"You're Mercian, aren't you?" Rouge asked. "I recognized the accent."

"Not exactly," the hooded one circled around her opponent. "I'm from a small kingdom that borders Mercia, actually."

Rouge raised an eyebrow. "What're you doing all the way out here, then?"

"That's none of your business, bat!" The hooded one lunged at her once more.

At that moment, Sally burst through the bushes, along with the rest of Team Dark Rose. "STOP!" she shouted.

The hooded one slid to a stop in front of Rouge.

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

The hooded one sheathed her sword. "My name is Derby." She removed her hood. Her fur was white, her eyes pink.

Rouge blinked. "You're a rabbit!"

"Yes, I know that." She turned back to Shadow. "I already know who you are. You're Shadow the Hedgehog, aren't you?"

Shadow nodded. "That's right. How did you know?"

Derby smiled a little. "I received a call from Commander Tower a couple of hours ago. So, you need some help from little old me, yeah?"

"Yeah," Shadow confirmed. "So you're the mayor of Honeysuckle Village?"

Derby grinned. "Yep! That's me!"

"Hold on a minute," Sally stepped forward. "If you knew we were coming to get help, why did you attack one of our teammates?"

"Yeah!" Amy glared.

Cream crossed her arms. "That was very rude."

"Agreed," Omega said.

Derby sighed. "I'm fairly sure that the Commander neglected to mention that a whole 'team' was coming to my village along with Shadow. Besides…this bat was asking for it."

"So were you," Rouge retorted.

"All right, all right," Derby turned back to the group. "If it'll make you feel any better, I promise not to attack anymore of your teammates. How's that?"

Sally raised an eyebrow. "That's fine."

Derby clapped her hands together, grinning widely. "Okay! Let's get going then, shall we?" she turned on her heel and marched off into the forest.

"Well, she's certainly a bit odd," Sally whispered to Amy. "But at least she's willing to help us…"

Amy chuckled. "And she'll argue with Rouge all the time so I don't have to!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: For This Village**

By the time the group arrived in the village, it was nearly dark. The streets were mostly quiet, most of the citizens already in their cottages for the night. Honeysuckle Village was very small. However, there was a rather elegant building located in the middle of the village.

"What's that building for?" Sally asked.

Derby glanced at the structure as they walked by. "Oh, that," she grinned. "That's my house. I'm the mayor, so, of course it's only fair that I get the biggest house."

Cream scratched her chin. "I…suppose that makes sense…"

"But the rest of the houses are so dinky compared to yours!" Amy pointed out. "And look at that ridiculously big statue of you out in the front yard! Is that really necessary?"

"No, I suppose not," Derby replied. "But it does look nice, doesn't it?"

Amy narrowed her eyes.

"Oh! Don't get me wrong! I'm no narcissist!" Derby said quickly. "The statue keeps people motivated. Reminds them of all the great stuff I did for 'em. Keeps 'em working hard."

Rouge rolled her eyes.

Shadow cleared his throat. "So, anyway, could you take us to this DNA scanner, er, tracker, machine?"

"Yes! Let us proceed with the mission," Omega said.

Derby stretched her arms behind her head and yawned. "What? No. We'll do it in the morning. I need my beauty sleep, mate." She played with a lock of her hair. "Not that I need it that much, but still…"

"Sleep? This early in the evening?" Shadow said.

Rouge marched up to Derby. She stood nose to nose with the rabbit, glaring venomously. "Listen here, ya tea-slurping smart allec! We've been walking for hours and we just want to find this Finitevus guy and kick his butt to the curb already! So take us to the stupid machine and quit being so lazy!"

Derby glared back. "I'm not being lazy, bat. Machine's busted, anyway."

Rouge's eye twitched with fury.

"You failed to mention that earlier," Sally sighed.

Derby grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I admit it slipped my mind."

"Oh no!" Cream looked worried. "What are we going to do?"

"Can we fix it?" Shadow asked.

Derby nodded. "Yes, absolutely. Just need to pick up a few missing parts. Should be able to get those in the next town over tomorrow."

Amy groaned, her shoulders slumped. "Next town over?"

"TOMORROW?!" Rouge threw her arms up in air in exasperation. "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope." Derby glanced at her home again, looking thoroughly uninterested in the whole conversation.

Omega's eyes flashed. "Well, this…"

"Sucks," Rouge finished.

"Oh, come on now!" Derby clapped her hands together and grinned. "It's not that bad! Now, how about I get you lot a place to sleep tonight, huh?"

Cream smiled. "Oh, that would be lovely! Thank you!"

Cheese squeaked happily and twirled around in the air.

Rouge still looked annoyed. "Okay. So, where are we staying?"

"Well…umm…let's see then…uhh…" Derby glanced around the empty streets anxiously. Finally, she spotted someone. A young overlander woman with her arms full of grocery bags. "Uhh, her!" Derby pointed. Everyone looked. "Yes, her! Umm, uhh, Emily! Yeah, that's it! EMILY! GET OVER HERE!"

The woman turned her head. She smiled and walked over to them. "Derby, how are you?" she raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd be asleep by now. You're usually in bed by seven-"

Derby interrupted her with a cough. "Yeah okay anyway say hello to my new friends! Introduce yourselves, friends!"

The group introduced themselves, though Rouge kept muttering about how she wasn't friends with that stupid rabbit.

"It's nice to meet you guys! I'm Emily…well, you already know that!" She sweatdropped. "Derby was shouting it at the top of her lungs!" She chuckled.

"Mmm-hmm." Derby scratched her nose. "See, the thing is…they don't actually have a place to stay tonight…"

Emily frowned. "Aww, that's too bad…" then she perked up. "Well, you'll just have to stay with me then!"

"Yay!" Derby feigned excitement. "Well, I'm off! Take care! See you all tomorrow!" She turned on her heel and walked quickly to her house.

Emily shook her head. "Ahh, that Derby. Always so busy…"

"Busy?" Rouge muttered to Amy. "Isn't she just going to sleep?"

Amy shrugged.

"Come on, everyone!" Emily gestured down the street. "My house is just over that hill."

"We appreciate you letting us stay in your home," Sally said.

"We do," Shadow nodded in agreement.

"Yes, you're so nice!" Cream squealed.

Emily smiled. "Aww, you're all very welcome! But, uhh…" she pointed to Omega. "Is, uhh, he…or she…with you?"

"Yep!" Cream nodded. "Omega may look scary, but he's actually very sweet!"

"Oh, okay," Emily smiled, albeit a bit nervously, at the robot. "Hello…"

Omega stared down at her. "Greetings, small overlander."

Finally, the group reached a small cottage at the edge of the village. Emily opened the door with a small creak and everyone filed in…except for Omega, whose large shoulders kept hitting the doorframe.

Cream gasped. "Oh no! Omega!"

Emily frowned. "I'm sorry, Omega. But it looks like you…can't exactly fit in the house…I guess you'll just have to stay outside…sorry…"

"No!" Cream protested. "It gets awfully chilly at night!"

"Robots do not get cold or chilly," Omega informed her.

"But…" Cream trailed off as Amy placed a hand on her shoulder.

Amy smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry, Cream. Omega'll be just fine." She looked to the robot. "Right?"

"Affirmative," he said.

Cream looked a bit unsure, but nonetheless she followed Amy into the house. "Okay," she said quietly.

Omega stepped back and Shadow gave a small nod to him as he shut the door.

Rouge glanced around the living room. At the center of the room was a small table surrounded by two large flower-print sofas. On the farthest wall there was a fireplace. "Nice place ya got here," Rouge commented.

Cream sat down on the sofa next to Amy, bouncing a little as she did. "Yes, you have a lovely home!"

"Thank you very much," Emily said.

Rouge warmed her hands by the fire. "Wish I lived somewhere like this. All I get is a cramped bunk back at GUN HQ."

"Our rooms aren't _that _bad," Shadow insisted. "Anyway, I'm sure neither this home nor ours can come close to what the Princess is used to…" He smiled a little at Sally.

Sally cleared her throat. "W-well, it's not really fair to compare this place or yours to a castle…"

"Wow!" Emily gaped. "You're…y-you're really a pri-princess?!"

"Uhh, yeah," Sally replied.

Emily glanced around awkwardly. "So, should I, umm, bow or something…?"

"Oh! No no no!" Sally said quickly. "That's really not necessary!"

"Oh…okay," Emily chuckled. "So, uhh..." she pointed to the kitchen. "Do you guys want some cookies or something?"

"Oooh! Cookies!" Cream squealed excitedly. "Yes, please!"

"Okey dokey!" Emily went to the kitchen.

Omega peaked through the open window.

Cream noticed him immediately. "Oh! Omega! Do you want some cookies?"

"Robots do not eat," Omega replied.

"Really?" Cream hung her head in sadness. "That's too bad…"

Emily walked in with a plate full of chocolate chip cookies. "Okay, guys! Here ya go!"

"Thank you so much!" Cream grabbed a couple cookies for herself and gave one to Cheese as well.

"Wow! These are delicious!" Amy said with a mouthful of cookies.

"They really are," Sally agreed.

Shadow nodded. "They're very good…and I don't normally even like sweets."

Emily turned to Rouge, who was staring into the fire. "Rouge? Don't you want any cookies?"

Rouge shook her head. "Nah, I'm good. Gotta give ya credit though, you're a whole lot nicer than that rabbit chick!"

Emily blinked. "Oh, you mean Derby?"

Rouge snorted. "Obviously."

Emily sighed. She sat down on the edge of the sofa. "Okay…I know Derby isn't the nicest Mobian ever, but…she's done so much for this village."

Rouge raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Well, before Derby got here…this was a very poor village. Our old mayor kept every last cent to himself. Before this, Mobians used to travel to Honeysuckle Village to sell food and other goods. Some even opened up permanent shops. But since they found out the villagers had no money to pay them, they all left. That means hardly any food, and almost no jobs. But then one day, Derby showed up, carrying a bunch of bags full of jewels!"

Amy's eyes widened. "Wow. Well, that explains the statue…and her house…"

"Yes, but that's not all she did with those jewels," Emily continued. "She also kicked out the old mayor, and started opening up new shops! Not to mention gave us some of the money the old mayor had been hogging…"

Rouge tapped her foot on the floor. "I don't know…she still seems awfully suspicious to me…"

Emily yawned. "Well, it's getting pretty late…" She stood up and stretched her arms. "How about I show you all to your rooms?"

"How many rooms ya got in this place?" Rouge asked.

"Oh, quite a few," Emily replied. "But two of you will have to share a room."

"Ms. Rose and I will share a room!" Cream squealed.

"Yay! Slumber party!" Amy giggled.

Amy, Cream, and Rouge followed Emily up the stairs. Sally stayed behind, eying Shadow curiously.

Shadow noticed her staring and raised an eyebrow at her. "What is it?"

"Aren't you coming?" Sally asked.

Shadow shook his head. "No. I think I'll be more comfortable down here."

Sally shrugged. "Suit yourself." She began to climb the stairs but paused a moment. "Shadow…?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, umm…you…uhh…" Sally bit her lip.

Shadow waited patiently for her to say something.

"I don't know," Sally said finally. She smiled a little. "You just seem different from the last time I met you."

Shadow folded his arms and nodded thoughtfully. "We're all different. Everybody changes over time."

Sally frowned. "I suppose."

Shadow grunted.

"Well, good night," Sally said quietly as she ascended the stairs.

"Good night," Shadow mumbled tiredly. He lay down on the sofa and closed his eyes. And just as he drifted off to sleep, he smiled.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: A Quiet Morning**

Shadow blinked his eyes open. He sat up with a yawn and stretched his arms. The hedgehog noted that it was still fairly dark outside, so it was probably about five o' clock in the morning. Shadow was used to waking up at such an early hour. Being the Ultimate Lifeform, he did not need to sleep as long as normal Mobians. Shadow stood up and walked to the kitchen, planning to get himself a cup of water for breakfast. He was surprised to find Emily there, washing some dishes in the sink. She noticed Shadow immediately and smiled.

"Good morning, Shadow!" she said. "Good to see I'm not the only morning person around here!"

"Well, it's not that I'm a morning person, it's just that I really only need two hours of sleep each night," Shadow explained.

Emily blinked. "Oh…okay then…would you like some breakfast? I could make you some pancakes…"

Shadow shook his head. "No thanks. I'll just have some water."

"Coming right up." Emily took a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water. She handed the glass to Shadow.

"Thanks," Shadow mumbled as he took a sip. As he did, he noticed Emily staring at him. When he glanced over at her, she looked away quickly. "What is it?" he asked.

"Well…it's just…umm…" Emily cleared her throat. "You don't really…look like any Mobian I've ever seen before…"

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"You wear those strange rings on your wrists and ankles…and your fur color is odd…red and black…I've never seen anything like it…"

Shadow didn't know what to tell her without freaking her out. He couldn't tell her he was just a laboratory experiment, that his odd fur coloration was a side effect of the chaos energy contained in his body, that the rings kept explosive energy from pouring out of him. So he just told her: "It's just the way I am," with a shrug.

"Oh, I see." Emily looked at him worriedly. "I'm sorry…I hope all that wasn't rude of me to say…"

Shadow waved it off. "No, no. It's fine."

Emily smiled. "Good."

"If you don't mind my asking…what are you doing in this village? I thought Overlanders preferred to live among their own kind in big cities. Like Station Square, Empire City…"

Emily drummed her fingers on the counter thoughtfully. "I never lived in a big city, to be honest. My parents and I stayed in a cabin in the forest. We had our own apple orchard. It was lovely…" she giggled. "Oh my goodness, I remember when I was little, my dad wanted to paint the house, and he let me choose the color. You know what color I chose? PINK! Wow…it was so gaudy…"

"Do your parents still live there?" Shadow asked.

Emily shook her head. "No. They moved to Station Square a long time ago. But I'm really not a fan of big cities, so I came here."

Shadow nodded. "I see." He placed his glass on the table. "Thank you for the water," he said as he stepped out of the kitchen towards the front door.

Emily smiled at him. "You're welcome. Are you going to Derby's place?"

"Yes, I am," Shadow answered, opening the door.

"Well…Derby is usually…asleep…for the next six hours…" Emily sweatdropped. "And she gets pretty mad if anyone wakes her up…"

"Oh." Shadow cleared his throat awkwardly and shut the door. "Guess I'll just…hang around here a little longer, then…"


End file.
